Citrus Fruits: Types, Botany and USDA Nutrients per Fruit

Citrus fruits are the fruits of the genus Citrus, a group of flowering trees and shrubs in the citrus family, Rutaceae, that NC State Extension describes as native to Asia, Melanesia and Australia. The same source explains that citrons, mandarins and pomelos have been heavily hybridized to produce our lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruits. In USDA FoodData Central, a navel orange lists about 82.7 milligrams of vitamin C, 92% of the FDA Daily Value, and a cup of pummelo sections about 115.9 milligrams. Below: the types of citrus fruits, USDA tables with FDC IDs, and FDA’s note on grapefruit and some medicines.

Peptide Labs does not sell foods. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice.

What makes a fruit a citrus fruit?

NC State Extension describes Citrus as a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the Rutaceae, or citrus, family, and its plant pages call the fruit a complicated berry with an outer rind, “a type of thick-skinned berry called a hesperidium” in the wording of its Meyer lemon entry.

NC State Extension describes the Meyer lemon as a cross between a citron and a mandarin-pomelo hybrid, distinct from the common lemon. FDA, in its grapefruit note, describes tangelos as a cross between tangerines and grapefruit.

Types of citrus fruits

UF/IFAS Extension notes that the citrus industry classifies citrus fruits into groups by their characteristics and use. Its home-landscape guide gives this citrus fruits list, with example varieties:

• Sweet oranges: early varieties such as ‘Hamlin’ and the navel oranges (standard or red fleshed), midseason ‘Pineapple’ and ‘Midsweet’, and the late ‘Valencia’.
• Grapefruit: white and red-fleshed varieties such as ‘Redblush’ and ‘Flame’; see our grapefruit guide.
• Specialty fruits: tangerines and related mandarin types such as ‘Fallglo’ and ‘Sunburst’, the ‘Temple’ tangor, the ‘Minneola’ tangelo and satsuma mandarins.
• Acid fruits: lemons, limes and others with high citric acid content, such as the ‘Tahiti’ Persian lime, the ‘West Indian’ (Key lime or Mexican) lime, the Meyer lemon, limequats and the calamondin.
• Dual-purpose and conversation fruits: kumquats, the calamondin and the Meyer lemon, grown partly as ornamentals, plus the Ponderosa lemon, the Ruby blood orange and the pummelo.

Our single-fruit guides also cover clementines, yuzu, calamansi and ugli fruit, and our guide to bitter orange covers its use as a supplement ingredient.

Citrus fruits ranked by USDA vitamin C per serving

The table uses USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy entries for the raw fruit and USDA’s own portion for each: one fruit, half a grapefruit, a medium tangerine or a cup of pummelo sections. The percent Daily Value (%DV) compares each amount with the FDA Daily Values for adults and children 4 and older: 90 milligrams of vitamin C, 28 grams of fiber, 4,700 milligrams of potassium and 900 micrograms RAE of vitamin A. Total sugars have no FDA Daily Value; SR Legacy lists no sugars value for pummelo and no vitamin A value for clementines, so those cells say not listed.

The portion weight drives most of this ranking. A cup of pummelo sections weighs 190 grams in USDA data and a kumquat 19 grams, so the pummelo lists about 115.9 milligrams of vitamin C and the kumquat about 8.3. Red and pink grapefruit lists about 71 micrograms RAE of vitamin A per half fruit in USDA data, against about 2 micrograms for white grapefruit. Our list of foods high in vitamin C puts these numbers next to other produce.

Citrus nutrition gram for gram

Per 100 grams in USDA SR Legacy, the same fruits line up differently:

Lemons and limes list about 2.5 and 1.7 grams of sugars per 100 grams in USDA data, against 9.3 grams for oranges and 10.6 grams for tangerines; these are the two fruits UF/IFAS groups as acid fruits. Kumquats list about 6.5 grams of fiber per 100 grams in USDA SR Legacy, more than twice the figure for oranges, and the most energy of the group at 71 calories.

Whole fruit and juice differ mostly in fiber. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, state that 100% fruit juice is lower in dietary fiber than whole fruit and that fruit should mostly be consumed in whole forms. USDA lists about 0.2 grams of fiber per 100 grams for raw orange juice against 2.4 grams for whole oranges, while vitamin C is similar at about 50.0 and 53.2 milligrams. The sibling list of stone fruits covers peaches, plums, cherries and their relatives.

Citrus and medicines: what FDA says

FDA’s consumer update on grapefruit and drugs says that grapefruit and its juice can be part of a healthy diet but can affect the way some medicines work, and that FDA has required some prescription and over-the-counter drugs generally taken by mouth to include warnings against drinking grapefruit juice or eating grapefruit while taking the drug. FDA’s examples include some statins such as simvastatin and atorvastatin, nifedipine, cyclosporine, buspirone, budesonide, amiodarone and the antihistamine fexofenadine.

• Not every drug: FDA states that the juice does not affect all the drugs in those categories, and that the severity of the interaction can be different depending on the person, the drug and the amount of juice.
• How it works: for most affected drugs, FDA explains, the juice lets more of the drug enter the blood by blocking an enzyme called CYP3A4 in the small intestine; for fexofenadine, FDA says the juice can cause less of the drug to enter the blood by acting on drug transporters.
• Other citrus: FDA names Seville oranges, often used to make orange marmalade, pomelos and tangelos as fruits that might have the same effect, and says not to eat those fruits if your medicine interacts with the juice. FDA does not name other citrus fruits on that page.
• What to do: FDA advises asking your doctor or pharmacist whether the juice interacts with your medication and reading the medication guide or Drug Facts label that comes with the drug.

The CYP3A4 enzyme in FDA’s explanation also comes up in our guide to CBD drug interactions.

Daily Values, labels and other notes

• Daily Values: the FDA Daily Values in the tables (21 CFR 101.9) are label reference values, not personal targets.
• Packaged citrus: for canned segments, the Nutrition Facts label on the package is the figure for that product.
• Values vary: USDA SR Legacy figures are averages; variety, growing area and fruit size change the numbers for any single fruit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Food comes first; follow the label and ask a healthcare provider before starting a supplement, especially if you take medicines, are pregnant or have a health condition. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Last reviewed October 2026.

Related guides: Stone Fruits: What Counts as a Drupe, With USDA Nutrients, Oranges: Nutrition Facts, Benefits and Juice vs Whole Fruit, Grapefruit: Grapefruit Nutrition, Benefits and Medication, Lemons: Nutrition, Benefits, Peel and What to Watch, Types of Oranges: Navel, Valencia, Hamlin and USDA Values.